Cow-tail holder



A. BLACKBURN.

COW TAIL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4, 1921.

1,383,902. Patented uly 5, 1921. v

anvemoz JZZQ'ZZZZJ/ JZ I I Via nnvm BLACKBURN, canvas-ass;g msy tnem Toall whom it may concern in Be it knownthat I, ALVAH BLAoxBUnu, a citizenofthe United States, residing .at

Alum Bank, in: the county of. Bedfordvand State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cow-Tall Holders; and, Idoldeclare the-followingfto' be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use thesame. u:; .-;.-.l r This invention relatesto that classof de-. vices known as cow tail holders, the object of thesame being to provide a simple and effective device of this class whichwill effectively hold the tail.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this classwhich is made therefrom a single length of wire bent to form a pair ofspaced operating handles, a centrally and horizontally disposed springcoil, a pair of spaced tail and leg engaging jaws, and a pair of fingersfor engaging thehairs on the tail to prevent the latter from beingpulled upwardly through the jaws, the wire being so bent and twistedupon itself as to reinforce the handles and jaws.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a' part of this specification andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same:

Figure 1' is an elevational view of a tail holder constructed inaccordance with this preferred embodiment of the invention isclearlyshown, the numeral v1 designates a" central horizontally disposed springcoil, 2'

indicates a pair of rearwardly extending spaced operating handles, 3indicates a pair of spaced forwardly extending tail and leg engagingjaws, and 4 denotes a pair of fingers which serve a purpose to behereinafter set forth. While the parts may be formed inrvarious otherways, I prefer to construct them from a single length of wire. To thisend, the wire is first bent between its ends to form the coil 1, afterwhich, the wire has I cow-TA HIQLDER, I

1 Specification of Letters Patent. i

useful when used for such'purposes.

Patented July 5, 1921'. Application filed February'14,1921. Seria1 No444 ,910.f I

its opposite ends -r extended" rearwardlyin the hind-legxof' the 'cow.Furthermore,zaf-

ter; zthei wire-(is bent-1 in: this, way the parts thereof forming theoperating handles and j awssare twisted upo'n themselves as show'n toreinforce thesev parts. 1 Thus, it will be seen that a simple andeffective device is formed which can be manufactured and r tailed at anextremely small cost.

In using the device, the operating. handles 2 are moved toward eachother so as to sep-,

arate the jaws 3. The jaws are then engaged w1ththe adjacent leg of thecow just above the knee as disclosed'in Fig. 3. Now,

by releasing the grip on the operating handies, the coil spring 1 servesto cause the Y jaws to tightly grip the animals leg. The animals tail isof course, placed between the jaws 3 prlor to engaging the latter withher legs. When the device is in position as shown, switching ofthe tailis absolutely prevented. Furthermore, in case the tail is drawn upwardlythroughthe jaws 3', the finf gers 4 will become entangled in the hairson the free end of the tail and thus prevent it from becoming freed.

proved holder or clasp as being] especially designed for holding thetail of a cow to prevent annoyance :to the attendant or milker, I'

wish it to be understood that the device may well serve some otherpurposes. However, as before stated, the device is especially designedfor use as a cow tail holder and it will be found extremely advantageousand It not onlyovercomes the annoyance to the milker While I have shownand described my imby preventing switching of the tail, but it preventsdirt and other impurities from being swept intothe pail during themilking operation which often tlmes happens when no means is providedfor holding'the tail.

The construction of the device is such that it will be effectively heldin position on the leg at alltimes but, at the same time, it will noteffect too tight a grip to injure the ten- .don on which it is engaged.Furthermore,

by forming the device from a single length of wire, it is renderedextremely inexpensive to both the manufacturer and the user and it is sosimple in construction that it can be easily used. These and otherfeatures and advantages of the invention have, no doubt, become apparentfrom the foregoing 'description and drawing.

Advantageous and effective results are practically insured with theconstruction and arrangement shown and described. However, minor changesmay bemade within the scope of the adjoining claims.

-' I claim: 7 Y

1. A cow tail holder made from a single length of wire bent to form acentral and horizontally disposed flat spring coil, a pair of spacedrearwardly extending handles, and a pair of spaced forwardly extendingjaws, the outer ends ofvthe latter being flared to facilitate engagementof the jaws -with the cows leg, and the free ends of the wire being bentand passed forwardly through said coils and providing comparativelyshort fingers for catching into the hair on the tail. 2. A cow tailholder formed from a single length' of wire bent between its ends toprovide a central horizontally disposed spring coil, the wire beingdirected rearwardly'from the coil, bent upon itself, directed forwardlyand extended beyond the coil, again bent upon itself, extendedrearwardly to the coil. and the free ends bent upon themselves 5 andpassed forwardly throughthe latter, forming spaced handles, spaced jaws,and hair-engaging fingers, all

of which are disposed in aplane with the coil, the'wire forming thehandles and jaws being twistedupon itself to reinforce these parts, andthe outer free ends of the jaws being flared to facilitate engagementwith the cowsleg; a a v In testimony whereof I have hereunto set myhand. '-f a '7 'ALVAH BmoKtunnj-

